Adjustable wall panel



Jan. 16, 1951 c. K. BRANDSTROM ADJUSTABLE WALL PANEL Filed Dec. 26, 1946C. K. B randsjbfom INVENTOR.

' ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE-ff.

I Charles K. Brandstrom, Seattle, Wash. Application December 26, 1946,Serial No. 718,556

1 Claim. (01. 312- 242) This invention relates to drain boards and sinkand particularly to pivotally mounted shelves above the sinks forsupporting dishes to be drained when in lowered position and to providea part of the wall of the roomabove the sink when elevated. f

In the operation and use of kitchens and sinks therein it is importantto conserve space, and in the construction of most modern apartmenthouses relatively small areas for kitchens are provided. It is thereforefrequently necessary to provide shelves for supporting dishes to bedrained after having been washed in sinks, and it is also important toprovide shelves which may be folded up into niches in the walls wherebythe bottom of the shelves conform with and become a part of the wall.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide in combinationwith the kitchen sink for washing dishes, a shelf above the same to bemerals ll being similarly arranged on both the to provide flanges I3 toprevent any drainage pivotally mounted in the wall of the room andadapted to be folded vertically into a niche of the wall, and adapted tobe lowered horizontally to provide a shelf for supporting and drainingdish water back into the sink together with means for sustaining theshelf in such alternate positions.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter stated I haveillustratively exemplified my invention by the accompanying drawings, ofwhich:

Figure 1 is a perspective and diagrammatic view of the shelf in loweredposition with the wall.

Figure 2 is a cross section of the part shown in Figure 1 taken on line22 thereon.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the shelf folded upward into the nichein the wall with the outer surface or bottom of the shelf finished withsquare tiles to conform with similar squared tiling finish on theadjacent wall.

Like characters on the different figures repre sent like parts. Theletter A represents generally any kitchen Wall and the letter Brepresents generally a panel or shelf to support dishes or to be foldedup flush with the wall vertically. Numerals 4 and 5 represent ordinarystuds forming a part of a kitchen wall and 6 indicates any cross bracesof any suitable material that may be mounted between the studs. Iindicates any kitchen sink attached to the wall with a swing faucet 8and hot and cold water controls 9. The numeral l0 indicates the bottomor lower side of the shelf B which in Figures 1 and 2 is shown inlowered position for supporting dishes over the sink after they havebeen washed therein. The tiling squares are generally represented bynufrom dishes l2, spilling over such edges, and a small ducti I4 isprovided .for drainingany water from the dishes back into the sink. Insome cases it may be desired to place any soft sheet of material |5 overthe top of the shelf to prevent any injury to the edges of dishes whenplaced thereover. When such soft sheet is used it is advisable to locatethe top of the duct level with the top of the sheet.

In order to prevent the lower edges of the dishes from sliding forwardand to sustain them in leaning position against any rear wall IS aplurality of ribs or rods may be placed on top of the shelf within theflanges, as indicated by rods 1 l6, which may be adjustably sustained inposition by a rotatable latch 28.

A niche I1 is provided in the wall between the studs, shown as numerals4 and 5. Across this niche the shelf is mounted and supported by pins [9and 20 extended longitudinally from the lower portions thereof and theouter ends rotatably disposed in the respective studs at each end of theshelf whereby the shelf may be folded upward in vertical position intothe niche with the outer face thereof flush with the wall, and may belowered outward horizontally for supporting the dishes. The pins beingextended from the lower margins of the ends of the shelf in spacedrelation from the rear edge thereof, the weight of the upper portion ofthe shelf when elevated will be back of or behind the pivot pins thusthrowing the major portion of the weight of shelf behind the pinswhereby the shelf will be sustained by gravity in vertical position whenelevated but may be easily drawn forward and outward by a handle 2 I.

A pair of links are provided to sustain and control the bracket inextended position. The outer link 22 i connected by pivot pin 23 to oneend of the shelf adjacent to the outer edge thereof, and an inner link24 is connected by pivot 25 to the stud 4. The free ends of the linksmeet centrally and are connected together by a pivot pin 26; thus whenthe shelf is extended horizontally the two links assume a relativelystraight line between the extended pivots 23 and 25 While the centralpivot 26 is nearly on a dead center and so retains the shelf inhorizontal position for supporting the weight of dishes thereon. Theinner link 24 is provided with a lip 21 near the outer end thereof whichextends laterally over the top of link 22 when they are both folded downfor sustaining the shelf horizontally and thus prevents the adjoiningends of the links from accidentally passing below a straight linewhereby the outer edge of the shelf is prevented from folding upwardwhen not so intended or desired. When the operator wishes to elevate theshelf manual pressure .on the junction of the links below thepin 26causes the links to fold upward as indicated by the dotted lines 22,when the shelf is in vertical position, and will there remain assustained by gravity as before stated.

A narrow flange 29 is provided along the outer edge of the shelf, whichprevents the outer face of the shelf from passing behind the face of thewall when folded vertically over the niche.

Having described my invention I claim as new for Letters Patent:

An adjustable wall panel, including, a relatively fiat frame forsupporting dishes when lowered and for closing a niche betweenvertical-wall studs when upraised, said frame having bars along thesides for rigidity, together with means for supporting and operating thepanel including, a pair of pins projected outwardly and lat- 4 erallyfrom the bars for pivotal disposition in the respective studs, said pinsbeing spaced from the inner ends of the bars a distance slightly lessthan the depth of the niche to provide a partial counterweight behindthe pins to aid in lifting the panel and located adjacent to the loweredges of the bars for disposal of the greater portion of weight of thepanel behind the pins when fully raised to automatically maintain thepanel in such'fully elevated position between the studs by the weight ofthe overhanging rear portion of the panel behind the pins and bygravity.

CHARLES K. BRANDSTROM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 170,923 Whiteside Dec. 7, 18751,177,153 Thulander s Mar. 28, 1916 1,428,707 Prost Sept. 12, 19221,860,617 K-rause May 31, 1932 1,918,744 Fazekas July 18, 1933 2,070,641Bartels Feb. 16, 1937 2,440,549 Kiser Apr. 27, 1948

